Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 6

For Day 6 I did upper body foam rolling from 645 and then the two recovery routines from Lift 4. All of them went well and I thought I had a bit more range of motion during the Lift 4 stretch routine than I have had the past couple of weeks.

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 5

Day 5 was leg-focused. In T25 it was the lower focus workout and in Lift 4 it was legs. 

The T25 workout does not have as much cardio (although it does have some). There was lots of variation on squats, lunges, and deadlifts. There is also some balance work. Tonia is again modifying and the other cast members today included Scott, Jan (or Jam), and a new guy named Nate, who Shaun pretty much ignores for the entire workout. Then, you get a three-minute cooldown. 

The Lift 4 workout was the Legs 50/50. As in the prior workouts this week, I used lighter weights for the resistance exercises so I could get a better range of motion in my squats and lunges. That worked out exactly as I hoped as I got much deeper into both the squats and lunges during that portion. I still struggle mightily with triple bear but my goal is just to be able to hold that position (without hopping or stepping) the entire time, then once I can do that, start the hops. 

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 4

Day 4 was ab intervals from T25 and Shoulders from Lift 4.

The ab intervals workout alternates between doing core-focused moves for a few minutes and then doing about a minute of cardio, then going back to more core exercises. The ab exercises range in difficulty level and get progressively harder as the routine goes on. After the workout ends, there is a three-minute cooldown in which you stretch your back, hamstrings, and hip flexors.  

The Lift 4 workout was an interval workout so each block had two resistance exercises and a 30-second HIIT exercise. I was able to do the unmodified versions of the HIIT moves, but I did have to do them slower and pause a couple of times in the second and third sets, especially in the third block. 

Book Review: The Last Patriot (Scot Harvath Series #7)

 

The Last Patriot, published in 2008, is the 7th book in the Scot Harvath series of action-thriller novels written by Brad Thor. This book is set down the line from the events of the prior novel, The First Commandment, with Harvath determined to get out of his role as a quasi-spy/assassin based on what he sees as being kept in the dark, sold out, and then betrayed by President Rutledge. This book starts with Scot and Tracy vacationing in France where they are witness to (and get involved in) an attempted assassination/hit. Their involvement gets Scot pulled back into working for President Rutledge in a storyline that mirrors a National Treasure-like follow-the-clues storyline, all while trying to avoid the assassin.

The hardcover version of the book is relatively short, coming in at just over 330 pages. In the Afterword, Thor lays out the background research he did for the book and goes through what elements of the story were real (or at least based in reality) and what he made up. The book has a good mix of action and suspense and by the end, essentially resets the overall storyline leaving the direction of the series very much open. There is less political intrigue/fighting as in some of the prior novels, but something like that would not have worked in this story anyway.  If you are a fan of the prior novels in the series this one is absolutely worth the time to read. 

Workout Update: T25/Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Day 3

Day 3 was a bit of a shit show. My back was spasming at 4AM so I was standing up all morning to loosen it up. Thankfully, this was a rest day in Lift 4, so I did the two recovery routines in the morning, which definitely helped my back. 

In the evening I did the total body circuit workout in T25. In this workout, you go through a series of exercises for 20 of the 25 minutes that alternate between a cardio focus (like sprints), chest and shoulder focus (like push-ups and pike-ups), core focus like plank moves, and legs (doing a lot of squats and lunges). Then, you do a burnout in minutes 20-24 doing some of the exercises from earlier in the workout at a little faster pace, and then for the last minute you do body runs, which is basically shuffling your feet forward and back while swinging your arms. Then you get a 3-minute cooldown (if you choose to do it). 

As with the other workouts, this does not have any scheduled breaks, but I did pause a few times to drink water and catch my breath. Tonia again modifies all of the moves. Unfortunately, there are some exercises for which the camera does not show what she is doing until about halfway through the time for that particular exercise. The cast in this workout is mostly the same, Tonia, Derek, and Scott, and they are joined by someone named Jan or maybe Jam. It is hard to tell what Shaun T calls her, and he does not really do formal introductions. Shaun is a bit irritating in this workout, repeating the word "focus" over and over again. He does get a bit "word-of-the-day" with the names of his workout programs in general, but he is a bit over the top in this one.